PLEASANT GROVE, Alabama - A Bessemer man who kept lawmen throughout Jefferson County busy on Saturday morning was formally charged today with an array of crimes.

Authorities say 33-year-old John Arden Mason IV stole three vehicles Saturday - one of them carrying two young children - and led officers on a chase through at least four communities before he was finally captured. Already, police said, he was being sought by federal agents in recent days on outstanding warrants for unrelated crimes.

Pleasant Grove police today charged Mason with four felonies: first-degree theft of property, first-degree receiving stolen property, and two counts of interference of child custody. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office charged him with with first-degree receiving stolen property, attempting to elude and reckless endangerment.

He likely will also face charges by Irondale police. "He has been on a tear here lately,'' said Pleasant Grove Police Detective Jason Davis.

The ordeal began about 8 a.m. Saturday when authorities say he stole a Chevy Silverado in Irondale. About an hour later, at 9:01 a.m., Pleasant Grove police were notified that a Chevy Tahoe had been stolen from the Kwik Mart on Pleasant Grove Road with two children inside, ages 3 and 5.

About 15 minutes after receiving that call, Davis said, the children were found abandoned in a yard in Pleasant Grove. A woman looking at houses there just happened to stumble onto the children. "She was really in the right place at the right time,'' Davis said.

OnStar Navigations was notified of the Tahoe's theft and the vehicle was remotely disabled. That SUV was found abandoned on Rock Creek Road in Sylvan Springs.

About 9:30 a.m., minutes after dumping the Tahoe, Davis said Mason stole a truck in the Rock Creek community of western Jefferson County. When deputies tried to stop a car matching the description in Sylvan Springs, the driver fled and led a chase through Mulga, Maytown, Wylam and Fairfield. The suspect started driving south in the northbound lanes on Interstate 59, before exiting at Jaybird Road and crashing at 15th Street and 9th Avenue in Midfield. Deputies said he then fled the scene on foot, but was captured a short time later.

"All in all, this case could not have played out any better,'' Davis said. "The kids were back with their parents and the car was recovered. Normally it doesn't work out like this."

Jefferson County sheriff's Chief Deputy Randy Christian agreed.

"To say his actions were reckless and dangerous is a pretty big understatement. He has been on a pretty serious crime spree and is also a suspect in several burglaries and theft,'' Christian said. "We are all very fortunate that so far he hasn't caused a death with his devil-may-care attitude. Hopefully he will have a long time to ponder that in jail."